Willett, reached on May 29 before all the returns were in, wrote in an email: “Very encouraged by early returns, but the night is young. I'm sticking with cautious optimism.”

Neither Smith nor Devine could be reached for comment, as each man’s voicemail box was too full to accept messages.

Medina did not return a call seeking comment.

Pool says, “Everybody had us out, and we did better than every expected,” adding that he intends to stay focused on his campaign-stated goals of preventing “the short shrift the Texas Constitution gets at the moment.”